Destiny's Playlist
by TheNorthernBelle
Summary: Soulmate AU - Everyone is born with the very first words their Soulmate will say to them tattooed on their body. This is a collection of drabbles set in the MCU Avengers Universe, inspired by songs on my playlist. Pairings include: Darcy/Steve; though there will be a mix, and a mix of pairings are welcome!
1. Aaron Burr

_So, I'm on a huge Soulmate AU fic kick right now, so I figured I would try my hand at writing one! Combine that with my obession with Hamilton, and you've got this fic (which I may or may not have written the majority of at work. Shhhh, don't tell!)._

 _Notes: Soulmate AU where people have the first words their Soulmate will say to them written somewhere on their bodies. It is considered very taboo to show your Mark to anyone_

Before the ice, before he slept for those 70 long years, Steve had always wondered about his Words. Why was his future soulmate mistaking him for someone else? Who was Aaron Burr? When he later learned about Aaron Burr in school (an American politician, the third Vice President of the United States), he wondered why on Earth his soulmate would mistake him for the historic figure.

When he came out of the ice, he was shocked and relieved to discover that his words were still scrawled down his leg. That meant his soulmate was still alive. It maybe even meant they had been in this time all along. It meant there was someone out there waiting for him. Those thoughts got him through his first few weeks in the strange, new world he suddenly found himself in.

It wasn't until four years later that he got a true lead on what his SoulMark might mean. Apparently it was a line from an extremely popular musical…

Darcy let out a sound that was half sigh, half groan, and half something else. No, wait, that was too many halves. She slumped into her desk chair, too exhausted to care. She had finally gotten Jane to go to bed after having been up for almost three days straight. Seriously, how that girl Scienced so hard was beyond her. But that was probably why Jane was the astrophysicist and Darcy was the Scientist Wrangler, for lack of a better title at the moment.

Still, she hadn't even had to resort to some of her more elaborate threats tonight. As soon as she had switched Jane over to decaf coffee, it had been lights out in under an hour! Granted, she had had to enlist Natasha's help in getting Jane back to her room (she was heavier then she looked!), but at least she had gotten some good blackmail worthy pictures out of the situation.

Normally once Jane had been taken care of, that was Darcy's cue to go to bed. But not tonight. The lab was just too much of a disaster for her to go to bed in good conscious. It got that way when Jane was Sciencing extra hard like she had been on this last binge. When she finally returned to the lab after a good 12 hours or so of sleep, Darcy wanted it to be in good shape. So, clean first, then sleep.

Struggling to sit up straight, she knew the only way she was going to accomplish the first part of her goal was to put on some really good music. Groping around for her iPod (which SHIELD had finally returned to her, and which Tony had modified and upgraded for her), she wasted no time in selecting her latest musical obsession: _Hamilton_. The familiar beat had never failed to energize her before; she didn't expect it to fail her now!

Steve strode down the somewhat familiar halls of the Science wing of the Avengers' Tower. It was early, barely even dawn, but Tony had apparently gotten a surge of inspiration during the night and wanted to show him his latest gadget. No one else on the floor was even in yet; all the other labs were pitch black. That is, except one. And it wasn't Tony's lab. His lab took up its own floor (and that was still three floors above this one, Steve would come to find out). So who else would be here this early?

Deciding he had enough time to investigate, Steve poked his head through the door. It looked like whoever was here was in the middle of a cleaning spree; the right half of the lab was neatly organized, while the left side was a riot of discarded machines, haphazard stacks of papers, and whiteboards covered with formulas that he had no hope of understanding. And in the center of it all, slumped across one of the tables, head pillowed on one arm, was a brunette woman who was fast asleep.

Steve approached her quietly, noting that he had seen her around the Tower a few times, but had never been officially introduced to her. When he had seen her, she was usually with Dr. Jane Foster, Thor's dame. Maybe this was Dr. Foster's lab then? Figuring he might as well wake her up - falling asleep at a desk was not fun - he gently placed a hand on her shoulder.

The dame must have been a very light sleeper, or was just on the verge of waking up, because she shot straight up at the sudden weight and warmth of someone else's hand on her shoulder. "Pardon me, are you Aaron Burr, Sir?" she croaked out groggily, one hand coming up to push her hair out of her face, the other going to pull some earbuds from her ears. Half turning, she blinked sleepily up at Steve, as though trying to figure out who he was, why he was in her lab, and why he was interrupting her sleep.

The movements of her hands drew his attention to the iPod in the circle of her arms, and his enhanced hearing picked up a very familiar melody. But that was all pushed to the back of his mind, because she had just spoken his Words! A lopsided grin formed on his face as he happily declared, "I understood that reference!"

Darcy stared up at the stranger - the very very hot stranger - her sleep muddled mind still struggling to catch up. Blond hair, the bluest eyes, muscles for days… "Hey, you're a _Hamilton_ fan!" was the first thing she thought to say, followed quickly by, "Wait, those were my...you're my Soulmate!"

"Both are true," Steve said, glancing down again at her iPod. He could still hear the music that was coming from it; _Helpless_ had just started playing, which was a little perfect, given the situation.

 _You walked in_

 _And my heart went boom_

Her Soulmate was right in front her! That was enough to chase the sleepy cobwebs from her mind. She had only been waiting her whole life for her Words to be spoken out loud, to finally figure out their meaning, to finally meet her Soulmate, to get to know them, and -

"Holy crap, you're Captain - "

"Steve," Steve interrupted, chuckling at the look on her face. It was adorable. "I mean, yes, I am him too, but my name is Steve. Steve Rogers. And you are…?"

"Darcy Lewis: Scientist Wrangling Expert, and She Who Tased Thor. Did he ever tell you that story?"

"No, he did not," Steve said slowly. His Soulmate - Darcy - had tased Thor?! "I have to hear that story now, though. How about you tell it to me over coffee? Do you like coffee?" Man, did he have a whole list of questions for her now. 90 years worth of questions.

"Do I like coffee?" Darcy echoed with a snort. "I can't live without it. I'd take the stuff via an IV if I could!" She got off her stool, smiling up at Steve as she held out her hand. "Come on then, Best of Men."

Steve didn't even hesitate to take her hand, and something seemed to click into place as their fingers twined together. They had only taken a few steps towards the door when, "I understood that reference too!"

A month later Steve surprised Darcy with tickets to Hamilton. For how much they both loved the soundtrack, neither one had actually seen it on Broadway. Later, when they had been invited backstage, it was hard to tell who was more star struck: the cast or the couple.


	2. My Darling

_Notes: Soulmate AU where everyone is born with the first Words that their Soulmate will speak to them tattooed on their body. It is considered very taboo to show these Words to anyone else, but if you do, it is a uniquely strong sign of trust and friendship._

 _Also, Avengers AU since the pairing for this one is Steve/Peggy, and Peggy is alive in present day. I'm just a sucker for Steve/Peggy feels!_

xxxxxXXXxxxxXXXxxxxXXXxxxx

Word was spreading through SHIELD HQ like wildfire. _She_ was here. The Agent. To the outside world, she didn't exist anymore. She had left her stamp on history and then had quietly faded from the spotlight until most people assumed she had died at some point. To those in the know, to those who were a part of SHIELD, she was both a legend and a rumor. Only those with the highest level of clearance learned the truth about her, let alone got to work with her. Yet here she was, storming down the halls in plain sight. And anyone who even only knew the barest of SHIELD's history knew who she was: Agent Margaret Carter.

"Agent Hill," the Agent said smoothly as she exited the lift that had brought her to this particular floor.

"Agent," Agent Hill responded, nodding in greeting. "Look, before you -"

"Agent Hill, I have no grief with you, and I would prefer to keep it that way. Is the Director in, or not?" the Agent said as she crossed her arms and lifted an eyebrow ever so slightly.

Agent Hill closed her eyes briefly, as though praying for something, before responding, "He's in."

"Excellent," the Agent said before striding forwards into the office of one Nick Furry. The man in question had his back to her, gazing out at the city through one of the many floor to ceiling windows. On his desk, front page news, was the very thing that had brought her to New York all the way from London. _Avengers Save New York: Alien Threat Defeated_ the headline screamed.

"Now, Peggy, before you start," Furry said, not turning to face her yet.

"Don't you 'Peggy' me, Nicholas!" Peggy spat, slamming her hands down on his desk. The man didn't even flinch, curse him. "One week! One week I've been back from my deep-cover ops, and then this was yesterday's breaking news. But then imagine my surprise when I find out that he's actually been here, under your roof, long before this Chitauri invasion! You damn well better have-"

"Who told you?" Furry interrupted.

Peggy glared at him, and wished for the umpteenth time that she had one of Tony's Iron Man gauntlets so that she could properly bash the man in front of her. "That's not the bloody point! I should have been told. _You_ should have told me! The moment you found him...I could have been on a Quinjet in seconds. I should have been there when he woke up; I could have helped him adjust. I, of all people-"

"That's exactly why I did not tell you," the Director interjected, finally turning to face her. Whatever he was feeling about his lies being exposed, he kept it well hidden. "Captain Rogers had enough to adjust to after waking up. He needed to learn about certain things in their own time. Getting used to this new time has been hard enough."

"He's not an idiot!" Peggy snapped.

"I'm well aware of that. But he needed time to focus. Having you with him would only have been a distraction."

" 'A distraction'?! Is that all I am now? Sorry, I thought I was someone you actually trusted."

"I do trust you," Furry said, slightly softer than before. "What I meant was that it would have been a distraction for both of you."

"I know how to do my job! That doesn't change the fact that you should have told me!"

Furry merely spread his hands in a wordless apology, and she knew it would be the only form of apology she would get from him, the bloody idiot.

"Where is he?"

"At what Stark has dubbed the Avengers Tower. Though I won't pretend to think that you didn't already have that information," Furry said evenly.

"You made me head of the London branch for a reason," Peggy smart-mouthed back, "which has been left in capable hands, in case you were wondering. You know where I'll be if you need me," she added, emphasizing the 'if'. And with that she strode from his office and back into the lift, only punching the button for the ground floor a little harder than necessary.

She didn't even break her stride when she found a familiar red-head lounging against her car outside of HQ. "I'm surprised you didn't break into my car to wait for me in the back seat."

Natasha shrugged. "It seemed too cliche."

Peggy merely rolled her eyes as she unlocked the front doors so both women could slide easily into the vehicle. But it wasn't until they had been driving for close to fifteen minutes that she finally spoke again. "How is he?"

"Doing well, all things considered," Natasha reported. "He's been doing a lot of research on the things he has missed."

"And he's actually getting along with Tony?"

Natasha smirked. "Well, we all managed to save New York together. He's really okay, Peg. He mostly kept to himself in those first few weeks, but now, after New York and realizing he has a spot on a team again, he's better."

Peggy frowned as she took that information in, her emotions not preventing her from expertly maneuvering the car through New York City traffic. She gripped the steering wheel tightly as she finally asked, "Has he asked about me?"

"That was his very first question when he was being shown how to work our archiving system," the Black Widow reported. "He's also done research on SoulMarks."

Peggy didn't comment on the fact that they were monitoring his web searches. "And...does he…" she heaved a sigh. 70 years later and the man still had her fumbling for words! "He didn't have a SoulMark before; he was one of those who was born without one, just like I was. Since he's woken up...does he have a SoulMark?"

Natasha's gaze quickly wandered over to Peggy's right shoulder blade, where she knew her mentor's Words were inscribed. But she knew, unlike others, that Peggy's Words had only appeared after Captain America had been presumed dead.

"We don't know if he has a SoulMark," the red-head finally said. "Coulson was a huge proponent of his privacy in that regards when we were thawing him out and then waiting for him to wake-up. After that, the Captain was just as secretive. If he has one now, it isn't anywhere freely visible." She glanced over at Peggy again, noting how tightly she was still gripping the steering wheel. "Are you hoping…?"

"All I want right now is to see my old friend. Anything that does or doesn't happen after that will be handled," Peggy said briskly as they finally pulled up to the Avengers Tower.

Taking Natasha up on her offer to deal with the car, Peggy strode straight through the front doors, not even bothering to greet the secretaries inside. Once safely inside the lift, she called out, "Mr. JARVIS?" Nothing would ever stop her from referring to the AI as such.

"Agent Carter, welcome back. Would you like me to inform Mr. Stark of your arrival?" the AI greeted.

"No, actually. I need to know where Captain Rogers is, please."

"Captain Rogers is in the common room," JARVIS said as the lift started moving upwards.

"Wonderful. And...give us some privacy, please Mr. JARVIS," Peggy requested softly. "Agent override order eight."

"As you wish, Agent Carter," JARVIS responded just as the lift doors opened onto the common living area of the Tower.

Peggy nodded and smiled before exiting, taking a few deep, calming breaths. Looking around, she didn't see anyone else beside her in the room. Except, of course, for…

"Steve," she breathed out.

He was watching the news, his back to her, but his head was tilted slightly forward, as though maybe he was asleep. He certainly hadn't reacted to her arrival. Moving softly, she rounded the sofa, and there he was. After all these years.

He was indeed asleep, chest rising and falling in an even rhythm. Peggy latched onto that sight, committing it to memory. He was alive. He was alive and here, and all she had to do was just say something.

But she didn't, not right away. She drank in the sight of him: the way the light glinted in his hair, the way his eyelashes fluttered against his cheeks, the way his fingers twitched as he dreamt. It was truly a beautiful sight, made more so by the fact that she never thought she would see it.

She hadn't been lying when she had told Natasha that she didn't care what happened in regards to her (their?) SoulMarks. She hoped, God she hoped, but all she wanted right now was to speak to her old friend again. Soulmate or not, she was just thankful to have him back in her life. Whatever happened in the next few seconds, good or bad, she would deal with it as she had always dealt with things. Practically.

Not wanting to waste another moment, she quickly, and loudly, cleared her throat. She hoped it would be enough to wake him, and it turned out she wasn't wrong.

Steve's head jerked up, eye snapping open to scan his surroundings. They went first to the windows opposite of him, searching for signs of a threat. When they didn't find any, those familiar blue eyes finally landed on her, widening in surprise.

Peggy smiled her famous red smile as she placed hands on hips. "On your feet, my darling soldier." Okay, so maybe her hope was clouding her judgement just a little bit, but she couldn't bring herself to care just now. Not when Steve was looking at her like that.

He surged to his feet, and then forward a few steps. His hands reached for her, but stopped, hovering just a few inches away from her waist. He searched her face for something, while Peggy was able to see so many emotions flit across his. "Are you real?" he croaked out.

The Words on her shoulder blade seemed to burn after he spoke, and if Peggy was tearing up, she didn't care. Not when she now had an extra reason to be so very happy.

"I'm real," she assured him as she reached up to cup his face in her hands. "I'm real, you're alive...this is all really happening."

"Peggy," he whispered before enveloping her in his arms, a hoarse laugh escaping him as he did so.

Peggy slid her hands from his face to wrap around his neck. "Steve, my darling." And then they were both crying, both repeating each other's name over and over and over again, just checking to make sure it was all real.

When they finally parted, Steve unhesitatingly lifted up his shirt so that she could see the Words right over his heart. His eyes asked what he couldn't give voice to, so Peggy nodded before turning around and sliding her blouse down her arm just enough so that he could see her Words. His trembling fingers tracing over the Words, and his exhale of relief were the only confirmation that she needed. "When?"

"They were there when I woke up from the ice," Steve said softly, forcing himself to remove his hand so he could turn Peggy back around. So he could drink in the sight of her. "Yours?"

"I first noticed them about two months after your plane went down. I don't know how long they had been there for, but now I'm guessing that they appeared the moment of the crash."

"But how? We've met before; why would these be our SoulMarks and not what we first said to each other in the Army?"

Peggy shrugged. "We could always consult the experts, but my guess is that the Universe knew we weren't meant to be together during that time. You were meant to defeat the Red Skull and go down with that plane, and I was meant -"

"You!" Steve quickly interrupted, gripping her tightly by the shoulders. "Peggy, _how_ are you here?! You haven't aged a day…?"

"Dr. Erskine's serum. Right before your test, he had give me an extra vial for safe keeping. I kept a hold of it, even after his death, not sure if one dose was enough to warrant the government trying to re-engineer it when one was all we had. But then after you disappeared...I went to Howard to see what we could do with it. Long story short, I ended up taking the serum, only it worked differently on me. I haven't aged since."

"I can't believe it," Steve whispered.

"Some days, neither can I," Peggy said, smiling up at him.

"So, wait, you've been here this whole time? No one said a word!" Steve said with a frown.

"Don't worry, Furry still has several more lashings to come for keeping us both in the dark," Peggy promised.

"And Stark?"

"I thought she knew."

 _Speak of the Devil_. Peggy glanced behind Steve to see the younger Stark. Luckily, he looked ever-so-slightly embarrassed for interrupting.

"Sorry. I was just curious why JARVIS wasn't permitting anyone down here all of a sudden," the billionaire explained.

"So you thought you would just bypass the security lock-down? Didn't you check to see who had issued it?" Peggy asked.

"Ah, no. I was bored!" Tony protested.

"So go continue to be bored somewhere else, Stark," Steve suggested. "I have a 70 year old promise that I intend to collect on."

"Oh, and what is that?" Peggy asked, raising an eyebrow as she ignored the gagging sound Tony made as he left.

"We had a date, remember? Eight o'clock at the Stork Club," Steve reminded her. "Now, I know this isn't the Stork Club, but I intend to have that dance with my best girl." He held out his arms in an open invitation. "That is if she'll still show me how to dance."

"I thought you'd never ask," Peggy said, stepping easily into his arms. She marveled at how well they fit together.

"Hey JARVIS, play something slow for us, will you?" Steve murmured before leaning down and kissing Peggy properly.


	3. Puddles

_A/N: Everyone is born with the first words their Soulmate will speak to them tattooed on their body. It is considered very taboo to show these Words to someone else, but if you do, it is considered to be a uniquely strong sign of trust and friendship._

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Darcy considered herself lucky when it came to her SoulMark. While it didn't give her a date or a location of when or where she would meet her SoulMate, it at least gave her a context clue of what she would be doing when the big Meeting Day came. And it just so happened to involve one of her favorite movies. (Or was it her favorite movie because she ultimately knew it would lead her to her Soulmate? Nuance.)

She made sure to cover all of her bases. She would have the movie playing whenever she knew she would be meeting new people (this was before New Mexico and the subsequent life-changing series of events, back when she still had a T.V.); she would quote the movie given any opportunity. Most of the time people didn't notice, especially Jane, but it was a fun little bit of something that Darcy got to enjoy whenever she could.

" _Hey Darcy, can you call me a cab?" Jane had distractedly asked once when they had been in London._

" _Ok, you're a cab!" Darcy had responded with a mischievous grin. But Jane had merely rolled her eyes and called the cab herself._

Other times Darcy took her Words literally, though that required a lot preparation and paying attention to weather forecasts. But she came to enjoy those silly little moments, even though time after time they led to nothing. She wasn't going to give up though. Her Soulmate was out there somewhere; she wouldn't give up the search.

Which was why she was tripping out of bed at 3:00 in the morning, desperately searching for her iPod in the dark. Why? Because it was raining.

iPod found, and her rain boots on, Darcy hurried from her room and down towards the kitchen. Since she and Jane had moved into Avengers Tower, she had been delighted to discover just how many balconies there were for her to utilize as she indulged in her tradition. But she found that she preferred the one off the kitchen best; it was partially covered, and was always set up for outdoor dining, so when she got tired of dancing, she could just sit and watch it rain. Plus it had a terrific view of the night skyline.

Stepping through the sliding doors, Darcy took a deep breath of the rain-filled air. She loved the smell of the rain. It was the perfect rainy conditions too: not raining too hard, and the temperature was just perfect. Deciding to take her Words literally today - just in case - she selected her _Singin' in the Rain_ playlist and just started moving and dancing.

It really was freeing, and a great stress reliever. She should get Jane to try it one day; considering the astrophysicists' Soulmate was the literal God of Thunder, one would think Jane would be more into thunderstorms. But part of Darcy didn't want to let anyone else in on her rainy-day tradition. After a month of living in the Tower, she didn't think she had been caught yet. Well, she thought Natasha might have seen her, if the small smirk the Black Widow had given her after one session was any clue. But she hadn't quite worked up the nerve to ask the red-head about it yet.

Grinning as the title song came up on her playlist, Darcy began to hum along as she stepped up her puddle-splashing game. Seriously, why did people think jumping in puddles was only fun for kids?

The song was just coming to an end, and there was the briefest moment of silence before the next one, when she heard, " _Singin' in the Rain_." Twirling around to see who had spoken her Words, Darcy only had time to glimpse the outline of a man coming towards her before her too-exuberant twirl, combined with the rain, sent her slipping not so gracefully on the deck.

"Ow!" she groaned out, struggling to sit up and untangle herself from her earbuds. Great, the one time she actually had a clumsy moment, and it just had to be in front of...

"Sorry! I didn't mean to - I thought you knew I was there and...are you okay?" he asked as he knelt by her side and helped her sit up. And it was only then that Darcy realized who her potential Soulmate was.

Captain America. "Wow. I mean, hi! I mean, yes I'm fine, I…" _I'm rambling._

Steve chuckled. "I'm glad you're fine. And, are you…?" he trailed off, the question hanging in the air before he shyly offered her his right wrist. There, the oh-so-eloquent word 'Ow' was forever stamped. It was his SoulMark, and it was in her handwriting.

Darcy beamed up at him as she immediately shucked off her right rain boot. "Please tell me that's your handwriting!" she said eagerly as she showed him the top of her foot where her Words were written.

Steve glanced from the Words, then up at Darcy with a brilliant smile. "It is!" He took in her rain gear, her earbuds, and her Words once more. "Wait, don't tell me you've done this every single time it's been raining…"

"Not every time," Darcy revealed. "But the Soulmate thing aside, dancing in the rain is just plain fun!" She stared at him for a few seconds. "Oh my gosh, you've never done it before, have you?"

Steve shook his head before he helped his Soulmate to her feet. "Can't say that I have."

"Well that changes right now!" Darcy declared. "No Soulmate of mine is going to miss out on such a milestone! Oh! I obviously know who you are," and here she smiled at him in a way that had Steve blushing, "but I'm Darcy. Darcy Lewis."

"Well then, Darcy, lead on," Steve said, genuinely excited.


	4. Laser Brain

_A/N: so no song quotes as SoulMarks in this chapter, but I'm counting it anyway because I was inspired by a certain movie's soundtrack. Plus I couldn't get the idea out of my head._

 _xxxxxXXXxxxxXXXxxxxXXXxxxx_

Once he joined the Army and became Captain America, Steve's Words made a lot more sense. He only wished he could have gone back and assured his Mother that he wasn't going to be shot in some dead-end alley by a random mugger.

 _Hands up, or I'll shoot!_ Those seemed like appropriate words to be Marked with during war time. But did that mean that his Soulmate was the enemy? Or Hydra? Or would he one day accidentally sneak up on an ally? There were too many variables to consider, and not enough time to consider them. Not when there was one last Hydra base to take down…

xxxxXXXxxxx

Darcy Lewis, on the other hand, couldn't wait to meet her Soulmate and find out what she would say to him to make him say the words that were scrawled around her bicep. He had one heck of a sense of humor, that was for sure! And then she learned that her Words were actually a quote from a movie and she fell a little bit more in love with the idea of her Soulmate. Anyone who could quote her favorite space Princess would be well worth the effort of waiting for.

And then New Mexico and London happened, and thinking about her Soulmate took a backburner to dealing with actual aliens and Gods and superheroes. And then she and Jane were accepting positions with Stark Industries and moving into Stark Tower - Avengers Tower - whatever it was called, Darcy didn't really care in this exact moment because…

"Jane, I still can't believe this is happening! Pinch me!"

"I think I need you to pinch me. Look at this lab!"

"You're welcome!" a passing Tony called out in a sing-song voice. His tune was just close enough that Darcy threw the billionaire, and apparent Disney fan, a knowing wink.

A month later and she and Jane (and Thor when he wasn't going off Avenger-ing with the others) had settled in well enough, but they still hadn't met all of the other superheroes they now technically lived with. It was understandable - the world needed saving, after all - but Darcy really wanted to meet the people that featured so heavily in all of Thor's stories.

It was Tony who had the perfect solution.

"Laser tag?" Jane said dubiously after she finally read the tablet that Darcy had thrust in front of her face.

"Laser tag!" Darcy echoed with decidedly much more enthusiasm. "Oh come on Janie, it'll be fun! Who doesn't love laser tag?"

"Lasers and Science, that makes sense. But, laser tag? Against the Avengers? We'll be sitting ducks!"

"Not with that kind of attitude!" Darcy declared. "We'll have to be sneaky!"

"Against two spys? Right, good luck with that," Jane muttered, her focus already beginning to slip.

"Stop trying to ruin my fun, woman! I don't ruin your fun when you're so into Sciencing that you don't...even realize that I'm talking." She sighed. She loved Jane, but the woman needed to learn to have some fun! She was going to laser tag, whether she liked it or not! Luckily, she just happened to know a certain Norse Prince-God who could help her persuade Jane.

xxxxXXXxxxx

With Tony being Tony, Darcy was not let down on the laser tag experience. He had created his own obstacle course/layout in an abandoned building; it was four stories of twisting hallways, catwalks, hidey-holes, and fun! Basically, according to Tony, the perfect laser tag set up.

Jane was there, though Darcy had a feeling that she would deliberately get herself picked off just so she could get back to the lab sooner. But Thor looked immensely happy to have her there, and that was all that mattered.

Tony relayed the rules - "There really aren't any." - though he said it wasn't fair for Clint and Natasha to be on the same team; same for Steve (Captain America! Darcy was about to play laser tag with Captain America!) and Bucky. The two pairs in question merely rolled their eyes as they faded into the dark confines of the course.

"No one listens to me!" Tony said, throwing his hands up in the air.

"Not true," Pepper argued, coming up to give him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"See, that's team building! Thank you, Pepper!"

"I listen to you twelve percent of the time!" Pepper added before grinning and winking at Darcy as she too disappeared into the course.

"I am never going to live that down," Tony muttered. "All right, everyone else in!"

Music started playing from somewhere, the dim course lights came on, and it was game time! They hadn't formed teams beforehand; Tony had said they could form or break alliances with whoever they wanted mid-game, and that suited Darcy just fine. Her first goal was to try to blend in and observe from afar. That way she could try to see who would be easiest to pick off first.

Finding a ramp that would take her up to the second level (she knew Clint would automatically head for the fourth, and she wanted to stay clear of him), she found a nice corner of a catwalk where she could observe.

She spotted Steve and Bucky right away, still down on the first floor. She hadn't gotten the chance to officially meet either of them yet. They had been out on some mission to take down a few undercover Hydra bases when she had Jane had first moved into the tower, and the two soldiers had only returned a week ago. Maybe she could form an alliance with them; they clearly knew what they were doing, if the conversation of hand signals they were having was any indication.

But then Sam slipped by her hiding spot, and her line of sight was perfect. She took great glee in shooting him in the back. She smothered a giggle as the Falcon let loose a string of curses - they had only been playing for ten minutes - and started hunting for her next target. She knew she couldn't stay tucked away in her corner for the whole game; there would be no fun in that. So when familiar music from the Star Wars movies came on over the speakers, she grinned. Who was she to deny the calling of the soundtrack of her favorite movie? It was the perfect mood music to do some "hunting."

She almost got caught by Pepper, but the redhead admitted to having it out for Tony before anyone else, so the two parted ways without firing any shots. It was then that the perfect opportunity presented itself.

She spotted Steve up ahead, back to her, and Bucky was nowhere in sight. Then the Imperial March started playing, and she knew she just had to take advantage of this perfect set up.

Using every ounce of stealth she had, she crept closer to Steve, leveled her "blaster" at him, and gently, teasingly, called out, "Hands up, or I'll shoot!" And much to her surprise, Steve actually straightened up, spine going stiff, as if she had actually managed to sneak up on him with a real…

 _Crap crap crappity crap_. What was she thinking, sneaking up on a war vet in the semi-dark, even if it was with a fake gun? Had she triggered a flashback for him? But before she could decide what to do next, he was turning to face her and…

...and he was smiling? Then his eyes flickered up to somewhere above her head and he responded with, "I don't know where you get your delusions from, laser brain." She barely had time to process his words - her Words - when she felt the gear she was wearing vibrate; the tell-tale sign that she had been hit.

Spinning around, she spotted Bucky behind her, a smirk on his face. "Gotcha!"

"You!" She pointed a finger at him, then spun back around and leveled the same finger at Steve. "And you! You're..!"

Steve held out his wrist, where she could now see her tidy print inscribed. "And you're…?"

She fumbled with the sleeve of her shirt so he too could see her Mark. "You quoted _Star Wars_. You quoted Princess Leia! She's, like, my movie idol."

Steve stepped closer to her as he smoothed a hand over his Words on her arm. Darcy couldn't help but shiver at the touch. "She's an admirable woman."

"That's an understatement, but yeah." They gazed at each other for a few seconds before she came to her senses. "Right, back to business." Backing up a few steps, she grinned at Steve - at her Soulmate - before taking her shot and effectively taking him out of the game of laser tag. "Right, we have obviously have some catching up to do, so I'm calling in the Soulmate Clause to get us out of here. Bucky, do you best to get Tony for us, huh?"

Bucky grinned. "Yes ma'am!"


	5. Timelord or Soulmate

_A/N: Another chapter not inspired by a song, but the idea just wouldn't leave me alone! AU for the end of Captain America: The First Avenger (some_ _dialogue_ _from the movie is borrowed; I own nothing!)_

 _xxxXXXxxxXXXxxx_

Leading SoulMark Experts always cautioned against trying to "de-code" your SoulMark. Nine times out of ten, they said, the circumstances surrounding The First Meeting would happen how Fate decreed they should, no matter what preparations people made. SoulMarks could provide you with clues, but no one could ever be 100% sure as to how they would inevitably meet the one person that they were destined to be with.

Someone with the Words of, "Hey, look out!" might dream of being daringly rescued from some slightly dangerous situation, when in reality it turned out that their Soulmate was warning them against stepping in some dog poop.

But in the case of one Darcy Lewis, she knew deep in her gut that her meeting with her Soulmate was destined for greatness. How could it be otherwise when her Words were, "I don't know when I am." That's right. Not _where_. When.

She had stopped listening to people who whispered that maybe her Soulmate would end up being crazy long ago. She refused to give in to that kind of thinking. She liked playing around with the idea that they were a Timelord. (So what if she was a die-hard Whovian.)

And then New Mexico happened and Jane's Soulmate turned out to be an actual Norse God and Darcy figured that maybe her idea of her Soulmate being a time traveler wasn't so crazy after all.

What was crazy, at least at first, was when Agent iPod Thief came back and said that SHIELD (because that's apparently who he worked for) was interested in having Jane come work for them.

The astrophysicist was wary at first, given SHIELD's treatment of her and her research so far. But then they offered her use of their top-of-the-line labs, and all the resources that came with it and Darcy could see the pure want in Jane's eyes. In the end, Jane decided it was at least worth a visit to New York - purely for surveying purposes. She wasn't about to work from a lab that didn't pass her meticulous inspection.

So that meant that Darcy followed her boss lady to the Big Apple. She couldn't help but be impressed by the accommodations SHIELD was offering, but she didn't show it. But when Agent iPod Thief actually returned her iPod, she cracked a smile.

"Guess I can't call you Agent iPod Thief now, huh?"

"I would prefer not," Agent Coulson admitted.

Darcy studied him. "Okay, Son of Coul it is!" she decided, borrowing from Thor's book. She couldn't help it. And when he managed the barest hint of a smile, she decided the nickname would stay.

Hours later, Darcy finally got Jane away from the shiny new labs. "You haven't even told them that you'll come work for them yet! No Sciencing until you've decided!"

"You're right," Jane admitted, coming back to her senses as the fresh air and sunlight hit her. "Do you think the lab is like a bribe or something? Do you think they want us to keep quiet about what happened in New Mexico, and that's why they're offering us this job?"

"Janey, I don't have psychic powers; I have no idea what SHIELD really wants," Darcy said as they wandered down the street. "But think of all the shiny machines you just saw; we would never have to cobble inventions from scraps again!"

"That's true, but -"

"But you don't have to decide anything right this second. In fact, no life decisions should be made before we have coffee!" Darcy declared.

Jane's eyes lit up. "Coffee, yes!"

"And real food," Darcy added, walking back through her mental logs on how long ago Jane had eaten something. Peanuts on the flight up here didn't count.

They paused, looking around for a likely lunch target, when the doors of the building behind them burst open. Someone nearly shoved Darcy to the ground in their haste to get through the crowd.

Tense eyes met annoyed ones, and Darcy called out, "Dude, seriously, where's the fire?"

The man had seemed ready to run further down the street, but he stilled at Darcy's words. She couldn't begin to describe the look he was giving her; it seemed all sorts of parts lost, desperate, fearful, yet hopeful. She ignored the part of her brain that was focusing solely on this muscles, because damn was he ripped!

The stranger took a step towards her, and Darcy felt Jane tense up beside her.

"I don't know when I am," he whispered, looking at her with pleading eyes as though she had all the answers he sought.

Darcy didn't need Jane suddenly grabbing her arm; she was all too familiar with those Words. Maybe she did have all the answers after all.

"Hey, it's okay," she said soothingly. "I'm Darcy, what's your name?"

"It's Steve," Steve said, eyes darting around the area. They grew bigger as he spotted the lights and the cars and the flashing billboards. He focused back on Darcy, on the one thing he could understand. "And you're -"

"We're Soulmates, yeah," Darcy confirmed in wonder. He was finally here! She was being remarkably calm, all things considered, but he looked like he needed her to be the calm one. "What's going on? Are you okay?"

Steve shook his head and Darcy instantly went on guard. "Everything is wrong. I don't know when I am," Steve repeated.

Darcy smiled at him, trying to project a feeling of calm. "Well, it's -" That feeling was shattered when huge black SUVs appeared out of nowhere, blocking off the street. People in black suits poured out of the building that Steve had come out of; she spotted Son of Coul among them.

And striding towards them was an intimidating dark skinned man with...was that an actual eye patch?

Steve automatically stepped in front of Darcy.

"At ease, Soldier," Eyepatch guy ordered. His one eye wandered over Darcy and Jane. "Coulson, get Foster and Lewis out of here."

Steve's arm reached back to curl around Darcy's hip, and Darcy felt warmth spread through her at the contact.

"It's _Dr_. Foster, seriously, how hard is that to remember?" Jane snapped, glaring at Coulson as he stepped closer. "And we're not going anywhere without him," she added, gesturing to Steve.

"You're in no position to bargain here -" Eyepatch began.

Darcy rolled her eyes as she stepped in front of Steve. "Soulmate clause gives me plenty of room to bargain!"

Murmurs spread amongst the crowd as Darcy pulled aside the collar of her shirt to show the SoulMark on her collarbone, glowing the bright gold that meant she had recently met her Soulmate. Behind her, Steve copied her actions; his SoulMark - in the same spot - was glowing the same golden color.

"Now tell me what's going on," Steve demanded, stepping forward until he was standing next to Darcy.

Eyepatch sighed. "Look, I'm sorry about that little show back there, but we thought it best to break it to you slowly."

"Break what?" Steve and Darcy asked in unison. They glanced quickly at each other, then focused back on Eyepatch. Questions about who they were - would be - as Soulmates would come later. It was more important to focus on the here and now.

"You've been asleep, Cap. For almost seventy years," Eyepatch said. There was no softening of his voice, no attempt to deliver this devastating news in any gentle way. It just was.

Steve stared at him in shock, trying to process what exactly that meant.

Darcy reached out and took his hand, trying to convey that she was here for him. She barely knew him. She didn't know anything about him, other than his name and that apparently her theory about him being a time-traveler wasn't as crazy as some people had thought. But none of that mattered. Her Soulmate needed her. So she would be there for him, in whatever way she could.

"You gonna be okay?" Eyepatch asked with as much delicacy as an elephant in a china shop.

Steve didn't even look at him. Instead he looked down at Darcy's hand in his, and then slowly he moved his gaze until his amazing blue eyes were locked on Darcy's. "Yeah. Yeah, I think I will be."


End file.
